| Quick Specs | 2025 Audi Q5 / SQ5 |
| Engine | Turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 / Turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 |
| Output | 268 hp, 295 lb-ft. / 362 hp, 295 lb-ft. |
| Base Price | $52,200 / $64,800 |
Pros: Roomier & Comfier, Engaging Feel, Sharper Transmission Tuning
Cons: Costlier, Lackluster gauges, Capacitive-touch buttons
2025 Audi Q5 Overview: Same Tune, More Volume
The Audi Q5 is one of those SUVs that feels familiar even if you've never driven one before. As Audi's best-selling model, they're easy to find in most parking lots, striking the right blend of inoffensive styling on the outside and aspirational luxury on the inside to deliver mass-market appeal. For 2025's Q5, that fundamental concept doesn't change. Audi's tweaks to this compact SUV are subtle, adding a little more cargo space here and a bit more legroom there, plus a good bit more power and about an acre's worth of additional digital displays. The result is still very much the same recipe, but the result is sweeter yet sharper than before.
Engine, Drivetrain, Horsepower: Bigger Boost
The engine that will drive the bulk of Q5 models sold remains the same, basic turbocharged 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder as before. It's been massaged a bit, though, now offering 268 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. That's up from 201 hp and 236 lb-ft from the former base Q5 40 TFSI, or a tick up over the former Q5 S line 45 TFSI, which made 261 hp and 273 lb-ft. Fuel economy is 25 mpg combined.
Want more? Step up to the SQ5 and its 3.0-liter, turbocharged V6, now making 362 hp and 406 lb-ft. Its efficiency is 19 mpg city, 26 highway, and 22 mpg combined.
That's right, no hybrid offerings nor fancy, high-voltage electric turbos or anything of the like. Those turbos are new, though, with a variable geometry design intended to minimize lag despite those higher output figures. The biggest change, though, comes on the other end of the crankshaft: The SQ5 gets a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, a nice upgrade over the former generation's automatic.
Technology and Infotainment: OMG OLED
Slot into the driver's seat, and it becomes immediately apparent where Audi's engineers spent the bulk of their time and money on this 2025 rendition of the Q5. Like on the Q6 E-Tron, gauge cluster and infotainment duties are handled by a pair of OLED displays joined at the bezel to form a single sweeping pane. OLED technology means bold colors and luscious contrast, but most importantly, it delivers the kind of pure blacks at night that automotive-grade LCDs can only dream of.
The panel behind the steering wheel measures 11.9 inches on the diagonal, while the new infotainment screen is a touch bigger at 14.5. Need more? Tick the right boxes, and you'll get a third display on the passenger side, one not nearly as crisp-looking but offering yet another way to interface with Audi's latest MMI software.
Premium Plus and Prestige models also get a new heads-up display, bigger and brighter than before. It works better with polarized sunglasses and offers multiple different views with enough telemetry data that even data-hounds will keep their eyes on the road. That's good because if your eyes should linger too long on a roadside hot dog stand or other culinary distraction, the standard driver-monitoring system will chime early and often.
The HUD is a nice upgrade, but the software driving the gauge cluster disappoints. It offers plenty of pages of data to cycle through but isn't nearly as customizable or, frankly, as visually compelling as what you'll find in a new BMW or Mercedes-Benz. The lackluster design on such a beautiful display feels like a waste.
I also found myself hating the capacitive touch buttons on the steering wheel. By the end of the day, I'd lost count of the number of times I inadvertently turned up the volume when my right palm grazed the upper portion of the touch-sensitive area.
Design: Hello Again
The fundamental shape and character of the Q5 haven't changed much in 2025, but the details are quite different. The grille up front is even bigger than before, and while the overall look is more stately and sophisticated, I have to say I prefer the svelte shapeliness of the previous generation.
The headlights and taillights are the most significant change, keeping up with the modern trend of going as narrow as possible while featuring inordinate levels of complexity in pursuit of visual flair. That comes courtesy of a grid of LED-illuminated sections at the front and a crystalline-like structure of OLED panels at the rear, all of which can be customized in the car's app or infotainment center to deliver some degree of personalization.
On the inside, the biggest design change is the aforementioned faceful of OLED pixels, but other subtle revisions are here, too, including a switch to a much smaller shifter. That creates room for bigger cup holders and storage cubbies. There's more storage out back, 27.6 cubic feet worth with the seats up and 56.9 down. Legroom is up, too, all thanks to the inevitable increase in size over the outgoing model. The 2025 Q5 is about an inch and a half longer and a half-inch wider than before.
Driving Impressions: More Feel, More Shove
Piloting the new Q5 through the urban sprawl is as effortless as it's ever been. That new DCT has been tuned by Audi, not for instant, rapid-fire shifts but to slip between gears much like an automatic. It eases itself gently up to speed, sliding from one cog to the next without so much as a nod from your passengers. Power delivery, too, is subtle and relaxed, requiring you to flex your foot hard on that accelerator to get the turbo working. Steering, however, is ultra-light, with U-turns requiring just one finger.
The steering gains quite a bit of heft as you cycle through the drive modes, but there's a surprising amount of feel throughout. In Dynamic, the sportiest, the SQ5's throttle now becomes far more sharp and that transmission more eager, if still relaxed. Taps on the shift paddles behind the wheel are still handled on a delayed basis, a delay compounded by a noticeable amount of turbo lag.
The SQ5 delivers much the same experience when you're idling through town. But, find some more engaging roads (of which there are plenty in Colorado, where I tested these SUVs), dial it up to Dynamic, and the sportier of the two really does feel significantly different. The SQ5 adds more power and also more sound. Whether idling in traffic or swinging up to the redline, the exhaust note on the SQ5 is far more engaging. Likewise, the DCT here acts with far more intent, shifting quickly when you ask it to.
There's even greater feel through the steering wheel, thanks in part to Audi using stiffer mounts to attach the front subframe to the chassis. That swap does result in a slight penalty in ride quality, especially over separation joints and other short, sharp impacts, but the optional air suspension on both Q5 and SQ5 offers remarkably good ride quality despite the larger wheel sizes. Sadly, I wasn't able to sample a version with steel springs.
Fuel Economy: Down a Bit
The 2025 Audi Q5 is EPA-rated for 22 mpg in the city, 30 on the highway, and 25 mpg combined. That's down one from the old Q5's rating, but in my testing, I did slightly better, coming in at 25.8 mpg. On the SQ5 side, you're looking at 19 mpg city, 26 highway, and 22 combined. I again came in quite close to the official rating at 23 mpg.
Pricing+Verdict: Splurge On the S
The Q5 starts at $52,200, a big jump from the 2024 model's mid-$40,000 MSRP, and you'll need to drop another $8,400 for the Prestige package if you want niceties like the air suspension and the gratuitous passenger-side display. The Q5 Prestige model I drove stickered at $63,290, including the $1,295 destination. The SQ5 starts at a rather dearer $64,800, but for that, you at least get the air suspension standard. If you're thinking of Q5, the extra splurge on the SQ5 feels worthwhile. The changes to the chassis result in a noticeable improvement in feel, while the extra aggression from both engine and transmission make for a far more engaging drive without much in the way of compromise. Either way, the new Q5 is hardly a reinvention, but it does deliver enough new power and toys to keep up with the Joneses – or the Bavarians, as it were.
2025 Audi Q5 and SQ5 FAQs
Is the 2025 Audi Q5 available as a hybrid?
No, at least not for now. Your only choices are a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder or a 3.0-liter V6.
Is the 2025 Audi Q5 more powerful?
Yes, both the base Q5 and the hotter SQ5 gain power, up to 268 on the former and 362 on the latter. The penalty, though, is some extra turbo lag, especially on the littler 2.0-liter.
What are the Audi Q5's biggest competitors?
BMW's recently refreshed X3 is definitely this thing's toughest competition. The Mercedes-Benz GLC is still worth your attention in the luxury crossover SUV crowd, too.
2025 Audi Q5 / SQ5
